Thomas Edison on the sun and waves: You (probably) read this energy story here first

Dateline Earth is prone to finding out really interesting things while looking up something entirely different, and we not too long ago stumbled on a story from the Sept. 21, 1924, Detroit News:

Why Worry About Coal? Asks Edison
Says Sun and Sea Will Do Its Work

Both will be given job when price of fuel rises

By Drew Pearson

The sun and the ocean tides will supply the world with its mechanical energy in that not too distant future when our coal and oil reserves will be exhausted. In fact, long before that time, according to Thomas A. Edison, man will have harnessed the sun and sea to supply his ever increasing demand for power and more power.

Edison — yeah, the inventor of the light bulb, motion-picture camera and the phonograph, among other stuff we now take for granted — went on to say that once coal reached $20 a ton, it would trigger a movement into solar and wave-generated electricity.

Well the latest figures I could find, for 2005, show coal at just $23 a ton, which, adjusted for inflation, is nowhere near the $20 a ton he was thinking about in 1924.

And what do we have on the solar energy front? Edison’s caveat on that was that, “The main requirement is a good set of storage batteries…” and that really hasn’t been perfected, even today, from what I understand. Anyone out there know the state of the art on those? What’s holding solar back at this point? This story speaks of a recent increase in the efficiency of solar cells, and even the likes of Google are getting into the solar act bigtime.

As for wave energy, it’s being eyed right here in Puget Sound, but not terribly seriously yet, from what I’ve heard. Tell me if you know more.